About

Heartcatchers

$5,313

pledged of $5,000 goal

224

backers

Heartcatchers is a two-player card game where players take turns "catching" stacks of cards based on the playing field and the hearts they hold in hand, to move them back and forth across the playing field. Players can also play Secrets that affect scoring. Once all the cards have been played, the Secrets are revealed and scores tallied!

This portable, fast-paced game is lightweight and easy to learn (only 20 cards and playable in under 10 minutes) and is a great way to break the ice with new friends.

In Heartcatchers, the hidden information of face-down Secrets adds a delightful level of complexity to the deceptively simple rock-paper-scissors mechanic. Players soon learn that deducing the psychology of their opponents is a must for coming out ahead!

Enough telling! How about showing? First up is a video that teaches you the rules, then another one that demonstrates how a game of Heartcatchers is played.

Fabulous New Art

We've teamed up with Brian Patterson of D20Monkey fame to get some absolutely amazing art for Heartcatchers. Here's a sneak peek of the awesome new art you'll be supporting by backing this Kickstarter:

Heartcatcher Cards

What People Are Saying About Heartcatchers

"When I first saw the setup for Heartcatchers I didn’t know whether to be intrigued by the display or intimidated by the thought of diving into a new card game. Thankfully it was the former because I would soon discover that Heartcatchers is a relatively simple card game but it’s designed in such a way to achieve maximum fun." - Kareem at the Hulking Reviewer.

"Heartcatchers is a rock-paper-scissors bluffing game that’s quick, fast, to the point, and will get even newcomers to tabletop gaming playing massive mind games with their opponent to seek victory." - Bryant Francis at Geek and Sundry.

"Sometimes, you or your significant other comes home from work and doesn’t want to play a complicated game of Magic: The Gathering. That’s what creator Emma Larkins had in mind when she created this casual card game for her boyfriend." - Erik Nye at The Noobist.

“This was definitely something I haven’t ever seen before... A fun take on the microgame idea with an interesting use of bluffing and strategy... The game is very strategic and every decision matters... Always considering best move, always thinking about what my opponent might do, trying to stay three steps ahead … very engaging!... If you aren’t paying attention and he swaps that Heartbreaker with a Change of Heart, you’re screwed!” - Boston FIG judges

Honors

We've had the opportunity to show Heartcatchers off to great people at places like Metatopia, Boston Festival of Indie Games, and Playcrafting. They liked what they saw—here are some of the honors we've received!

Heartcatchers selected for the Boston Festival of Indie Games Tabletop Showcase - 2015

Heartcatchers nominated for the First Annual Playcrafting Awards - Best Tabletop Game

How This Game Came To Be

Emma originally created this game as a Valentine's Day present for her game-designer boyfriend. Here's what it looked like and how the art evolved over time:

Evolution of Heartcatchers

“I wanted to create a game with a unique, fun theme that would act as a ‘gateway game’ to bring new players into the fold,” said Heartcatchers creator Emma Larkins. “Also, I love playing games with elements of the unexpected, and knew that had to be in my first game!”

Emma solidified the mechanics over hundred of playtests. Huge thanks to the judges and attendees of Boston FIG, attendees at the Playcrafting Expo, the NYC Playtest crew, and testers at Metatopia!

When Tim signed on to publish the game, he came up with the idea of a "Little Prince" style art theme, and a Heartcatchers festival being the narrative of the game. Brian took that concept and turned it into the art you see today!

Creator Bios

Emma Larkins

Emma Larkins, Game Designer. Emma is a tabletop game designer, community manager for DreamSail Games, and science fiction author who lives in New York City. Her lifelong interest in game design reignited during a recent tenure as community manager for Playcrafting (NYC’s largest organization of independent game developers). When she's not toying with mechanics or inventing new post-apocalyptic worlds, you'll find her playing digital and tabletop games such as World of Warcraft, Lovers in A Dangerous Spacetime, Takenoko, and Dixit.

Tim Rodriguez

Tim Rodriguez, Publisher. Tim is a tabletop game designer, small-press publisher, and part-time supervillain. He previously published Backstory Cards, created the OmegaZone setting for Fate Accelerated, and the Ghost Pirates board game; all successful Kickstarter projects! He's on Twitter @dicefoodlodging, or find out more at BrooklynIndieGames.com

Brian Patterson

Brian Patterson, Artist. Brian Patterson is a cartoonist and graphic designer behind the webcomic d20Monkey: A series following the in-and-out-of-gameplay experiences of lifelong friends and gamers, Sam Tigh and Brett Tucker. Adored by tens of loyal readers, Brian continues to publish d20Monkey 3-days a week and operates as a freelance illustrator and cartographer in the gaming industry. Brian currently lives in Denver, Colorado with his girlfriend and three fluffy animal buddies. Brian plays games, draws comics, listens to music, and runs his mouth about all sorts of things on Twitter (comics, gaming, DIO) @d20Monkey. Seriously, he’s ridiculous.

Risks and challenges

The game is complete. The art is in-hand. The layout is in progress. We're planning to print with AdMagic, a reputable print management company who we've done a lot of work with in the past.

Precise timing is the hardest thing to estimate, but we've successfully funded and delivered three tabletop game projects (that primarily consist of cards) since 2012, and this is right in our sweet spot of expertise.

We're likely to run into some backlog at manufacturing because of our timing, but we're hopeful that since we're not aiming for that last-minute submission, we won't be contributing to a traffic jam. Fingers crossed.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 25 or more
About US$ 25

Two copies of Heartcatchers - one for you, and one for your bestest friend (or enemy), plus downloadable Heartcatcher wallpapers for your computer or smartphone. Includes, as a special bonus, Heartcatchers buttons!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 75 or more
About US$ 75

As a special thanks for a bulk purchase, we're providing six copies of Heartcatchers shipped anywhere in the world for free. Perfect if you want to share the game with all your friends! Includes downloadable Heartcatcher wallpapers for your computer or smartphone.